The Disciples' Call - by Osb Christopher Jamison (Paperback)

About the Book

This book traces the development of vocation from scriptural, patristic roots through Thomism and the Reformation to engage with the modern vocational crisis.

Book Synopsis

There is currently no shared language of vocation among Catholics in the developed, post-modern world of Europe and North America. The decline in practice of the faith and a weakened understanding of Church teaching has led to reduced numbers of people entering into marriage, religious life and priesthood.

Uniquely, this book traces the development of vocation from scriptural, patristic roots through Thomism and the Reformation to engage with the modern vocational crisis. How are these two approaches compatible? The universal call to holiness is expressed in Lumen Gentium has been read by some as meaning that any vocational choice has the same value as any other such choice; is some sense of a higher calling part of the Catholic theology of vocation or not? Some claim that the single life is a vocation on a par with marriage and religious life; what kind of a theology of vocation leads to that conclusion? And is the secular use of the word 'vocation' to describe certain profession helpful or misleading in the context of Catholic theology?

Review Quotes

[This book] can be commended as a significant resource both for students and academics working in the field and for those who hold responsibilities for fostering and discerning the vocations of others.
Ecclesiology

The contributors who have a keen interest in the theology and nature of vocation have given an excellent exposition of all the major themes that will help vocations directors and promoters in the exercise of their ministry. The assistance that psychologists offer to vocations personnel and their teams are covered in one of the concluding chapters of the book. This piece, authored by Dr Peter Tyler, is quite simply essential reading for vocation ministers. It is by far the best exposition of this topic that I have seen in some years [...] I would heartily recommend this contribution to the much underdeveloped corpus of material on vocations and will be a most useful resource
Irish Dominican Vocations Blog

These essays ... contain immense experience and wisdom for any to whom younger Christians turn for guidance.
The Reader

About the Author

Fr Christopher Jamison, OSB, is Director of the National Office for Vocation, London, UK. He has written Finding Sanctuary; Finding Happiness [Orion] and writes a monthly column in The Tablet and does Pause for Thought on BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans Breakfast Show